1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fasteners, and, particularly, relates to fasteners used in building construction, and, in greater particularity, relates to fasteners for deck construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Decks on houses have become a common necessity for modern day living and provide a relatively open area where parties may be enjoyed without fear of damage to expensive indoor furniture and carpeting and the use of a barbecue grill is appropriate. They provide a desirable location for many outdoor activities and may complement a patio at ground level that may surround a pool. A screened and/or covered deck may also be desirable where insects are common at night, and a shade is needed to reduce the sun's glare and heat during the day.
Decks are relatively simple to construct. Posts, normally 4×4s, are placed on concrete footings. Girders, such as nailed together 2×6s or 2×8s, are mounted to the tops of the posts. Perpendicular to the girders are mounted floor joists. The decking is attached to the floor joists with fasteners such as nails, deck screws, and specially made brackets. The boards themselves are typically made of composite materials or treated lumber to prolong their life in the outside elements. For example, the use of deck screws is common. The deck screws may be made of a special metal, galvanized, painted or specially coated to prevent corrosion. In order to prevent board splitting and ease of drilling, pre-drilling of each hole with a drill-countersink combination is normally required. This is a long and tedious process especially if the deck is large. If the need comes to replace broken boards, the screws must be removed. This may be difficult because of weathering, breaking, paint and/or dirt in the head slots, etc.
Several prior art devices attempt to provide fasteners to address some of these issues. U.S. Pat. No. 7,409,803 entitled, “Hidden Deck Fastener System,” discloses a deck system that employs a “plurality of substantially hidden fasteners to couple the floor boards of the deck to the joists. Each hidden fastener is rigidly coupled to a respective joist and positioned between a pair of adjacent floorboards. Each fastener forms a mating relationship with specially configured sides of the boards to thereby rigidly couple the boards to the joists. As seen therein, the fastener requires special manufacturing techniques to be made and thus increases the cost of that system. Further, the boards must have specially cut edges to mate to the fasteners. Once the fastener is attached by staples, screws or nails, it is difficult to remove since it is essentially “hidden,” and if removed would or might require new staples, screws or nails. Also, the cutting of the special mating edge in the wood board provides addition water entry or sources for fungal growth, etc.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,623, entitled “Deck Board Fastener with Concave Prongs,” discloses a bracket for use in securing deck boards. The bracket has two pairs of oppositely opposing prongs. These prongs are integral to a vertical member and have a spacer member on one side. A bottom flange is secured to the joists with nails or screws. Adjacent boards are driven into the prongs for securement. It is essentially impossible to remove the bracket after it is installed, and thus the removal of boards becomes a major project.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 7,356,972, entitled, “Deck Board Tie Connector, Connection and Method,” discloses a system for securing deck boards to joists. Each connector, for example, is a flat piece of metal with one or more vertical slots. The lower legs are pointed to enter into wood when hammered. A nail is driven into the vertical face of the deck board over the joist; the connector is driven over the nail into the joist. It thus appears that two connectors are required over each joist, and the nails must be driven before the boards are positioned together. Once together, removal of the connector appears impossible, unless someone is under the deck hitting upwards or the deck boards are destroyed with a pry bar. Further, the flat connectors are being driven across the joist wood grain and thus may bend easily and not enter properly thereto.
A further U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,200, entitled, “Resilient Deck Board Fastener,” discloses a fastener that has two oppositely opposed upper flanges mounted to a vertical member. A pair of resilient fingers are located at each end of the fastener. This fastener requires that each board have slots cut therein for the flanges. An additional task to an already tedious job. A deck screw is inserted through the top of the vertical member to hold it to the joist. This fastener further prevents removal of the deck boards once installed unless each fastener along one side is removed firstly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,209, entitled, “Decking Clip,” discloses a metal bracket for securing deck boards to joists. A pair of opposing prongs are located on the top edge. A supporting member of the prongs provides a means for separating the deck boards a given distance. The side of the bracket is nailed to the side of the joist. The deck boards are hammered onto the prongs for securing. This procedure is repeated for each new board. Removal of the deck boards appears to be almost impossible without damage to/or bending of the bracket and the boards.
Accordingly, there is an established need for a fastener having a means for securing of the deck boards that provides ease of manufacture, ease of attachment, and ease of removal of the deck boards as needed as well as other features noted below.